Hitching to Kaikoura
Early in the morning, Koo dropped us off by the high way exit past Belfast to start our hitch hiking journey to Kaikura for a short stay. It was at the motorway intersection near Kaiapoi town and we realized we couldn't hitch as the traffic was passing by in high speed. In the end, we walked nearly 5km to the next nearest town to hitch rides to our destination, Kaikura!
One remarkable thing about the journey was that we had only NZ$13.50 cash left with us before we left Christchurch! As we were running out of our budget, we had been trying to limit our spending as much as possible, and use credit card instead whenever possible.
Not long after we reached the right hitching point, we got lucky again and got a ride from a kind 'professor'-looking elderly who made educational videos for schools from all over the world. Turned out Peter was quite the chatter box. We talked about philisophy, politics, economics.... well technically speaking most of the time we were just listening and absorbing new information.
Peter was actually heading back to Wellington. He bought the car on the internet, and flew down to Christchurch to pick up the new car and drove it all the way back to North Island. We were indeed lucky to be able to reach Kaikura in just 1 ride! And I must say Peter drove pretty fast for his age! It was a pleasant journey to Kaikura. We passed through sleepy small townships and grazing lands, hilly terrains and finally arrived at Kaikura after about 3 hour time.
Kaik0ura is a nice town famous for whale sighting and its crayfish. Kaikura in Maori means 'to eat crayfish'. Later, we realised crayfish in NZ actually meant lobster. May was the low season hence there weren't many tourists.
We checked into Aldephi Backpackers, which accepted credit cards and the lady was kind enough to go easy on us about the deposit. We were supposed to give $20 key deposit but when we told her that we did not have enough cash, she settled with just $10 for us. It was pretty embarressing when YD pulled out a $5 note and handful of coins to make up the rest! The backpackers was one of the same chain backpackers we had stayed at Franz Josef. There were free soup every evening, free movie DVDs at the lounge, and free hot spa pool too! This one here even had free bike to borrow (deposit required).
After checking in, we went out to explore the walking route around the peninsular. According to the map guide, the route would take about 2 hour to finish. However, we spent close to 1.5 hrs to reach the starting point from our backpackers!
We passed by a mobile seafood stall and drooled at the fresh crayfish for sale. The smallest one cost NZ$42 and they even cooked and serve on the spot. With only $3++ in our pockets, we swallowed our gushing saliva and continued our walk.
One remarkable thing about the journey was that we had only NZ$13.50 cash left with us before we left Christchurch! As we were running out of our budget, we had been trying to limit our spending as much as possible, and use credit card instead whenever possible.
Not long after we reached the right hitching point, we got lucky again and got a ride from a kind 'professor'-looking elderly who made educational videos for schools from all over the world. Turned out Peter was quite the chatter box. We talked about philisophy, politics, economics.... well technically speaking most of the time we were just listening and absorbing new information.
Peter was actually heading back to Wellington. He bought the car on the internet, and flew down to Christchurch to pick up the new car and drove it all the way back to North Island. We were indeed lucky to be able to reach Kaikura in just 1 ride! And I must say Peter drove pretty fast for his age! It was a pleasant journey to Kaikura. We passed through sleepy small townships and grazing lands, hilly terrains and finally arrived at Kaikura after about 3 hour time.
Kaik0ura is a nice town famous for whale sighting and its crayfish. Kaikura in Maori means 'to eat crayfish'. Later, we realised crayfish in NZ actually meant lobster. May was the low season hence there weren't many tourists.
We checked into Aldephi Backpackers, which accepted credit cards and the lady was kind enough to go easy on us about the deposit. We were supposed to give $20 key deposit but when we told her that we did not have enough cash, she settled with just $10 for us. It was pretty embarressing when YD pulled out a $5 note and handful of coins to make up the rest! The backpackers was one of the same chain backpackers we had stayed at Franz Josef. There were free soup every evening, free movie DVDs at the lounge, and free hot spa pool too! This one here even had free bike to borrow (deposit required).
After checking in, we went out to explore the walking route around the peninsular. According to the map guide, the route would take about 2 hour to finish. However, we spent close to 1.5 hrs to reach the starting point from our backpackers!
We passed by a mobile seafood stall and drooled at the fresh crayfish for sale. The smallest one cost NZ$42 and they even cooked and serve on the spot. With only $3++ in our pockets, we swallowed our gushing saliva and continued our walk.
We passed by the fayffe house historic area before reaching the seal colony. 
Puzzling sign. It said 'No dogs between November and March'
the classic cows!
a fat, lazy, sleepy seal!
we gingerly inched forward to get the closest possible distance as there were signs warning people to be aware as seals would attack people if provoked
we went dead still and was so ready to run for our dear lives when it noticed us
We hike up to the hill that oversees the town, and according the sign board, one can make out the southest part of North Island on a clear fine day!
Puzzling sign. It said 'No dogs between November and March'
the classic cows!
a fat, lazy, sleepy seal!
we gingerly inched forward to get the closest possible distance as there were signs warning people to be aware as seals would attack people if provoked
we went dead still and was so ready to run for our dear lives when it noticed us We hike up to the hill that oversees the town, and according the sign board, one can make out the southest part of North Island on a clear fine day! 
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